Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell spoke with CRN following his company's $67 billion acquisition of EMC about the plan to bring EMC partners into the Dell program and what's next for the Dell channel.

Solution providers are eager to begin hearing specifics about how Dell and EMC's wide range of products and services will be knitted together and how partners can capitalize on what is perhaps the industry's largest and most diverse portfolio.

Dell appeared on-stage with VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger at the opening of the VMworld 2016 conference to assure VMware customers and partners that his company thinks keeping VMware open is the best way to ensure future growth.

As Dell pushes into the burgeoning IoT market, the company says it will double the number of partners it works with in that space through a 'matchmaking' system that aims to help customers partner with the right solution providers for their specific needs.

Lenovo will refocus its PC business, concentrate on higher-priced smartphones and expand its presence in the market for hyper-convergence as it struggles with revenue declines and fierce competition, the company said.

Solution providers are still helping customers understand the severity of the impact to their business, and find that accessing IT infrastructures is as big an issue or bigger than actual damage to the data centers.

Doron Kempel says selling hyper-convergence can be challenging for solution providers, but success will come from taking business from competitors that are unprepared or hesitant to embrace the technology.